The Washington Capitals fell to the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 (OT) Tuesday night in Winnipeg. The Jets would strike first but Nicklas Backstrom would tie the game in the waning seconds of the first period. Andre Burakovsky would give the Caps a 2-1 lead by the second intermission, scoring his first goal since January 31st. The Caps would stretch the lead to 3-1 with a goal from John Carlson early in the third period, but the Jets would get it right back, making it 3-2 with less than nine minutes remaining. The Jets would get the game-tying tally with 14.4 seconds left in regulation and would win it in overtime. The Capitals return to action Thursday night when they visit the Wild in Minnesota. Puck drop is 8:00 PM.
STARTERS
Braden Holtby (28-10-3, 2.79 GAA, .914 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Capitals. Connor Hellebuyck (28-8-8, 2.35 GAA, .923 sv%) got the start for the Winnipeg Jets. The starting forward lines a defensive pairs for the Capitals:
Forwards:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Connolly-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Burakovsky-Eller-Chiasson
Stephenson-Beagle-DSP
Defensive Pairs:
Djoos-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Bowey
Scratches: Jakub Vana and Taylor Chorney were healthy scratches.
FIRST PERIOD
The Jets would notch the game’s first tally with a goal from Mark Scheifle at 14:41 of the opening frame. The goal was setup by a beautiful deke and dish from Dustin Byfuglien. Andre Burakovsky was the initial victim on the play.
Nicklas Backstrom would tie the game in the waning seconds of the first period at 19:37.
The first period would end with the gamed tied 1-1. Shots on goal were also tied at 13-13 for the first 20 minutes.
SECOND PERIOD
The Capitals would take their first lead of the night with a goal from Andre Burakovsky at 11:22 of the middle frame. This was Burakovsky’s first goal since January 31st.
The period would conclude with the Caps hanging onto a 2-1 lead. Winnipeg led in shots on goal 13-9 for the middle frame, and led 26-22 after 40 minutes of play.
THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals would stretch their lead to 3-1 with a goal from John Carlson at 7:01 of the final frame, his 10th of the season. Carlson’s goal was setup with a beautiful backhand feed from Evgeny Kuznetsov.
The Jets would climb back to within one with a goal by Bryan Little at 11:30 of the final frame, and would tie the game with 14.4 seconds left in regulation, sending the game into overtime.
OVERTIME
The Jets would win it in the extra frame.
SHAVINGS:
- Evgeny Kuznetsov now has a point and an assist in eight-straight games, both team highs this season.
- Braden Holtby played his 20,000th minute in a Capitals sweater. Holtby is the second goaltender in franchise history to reach the mark (Olaf Kolzig: 41,260 minutes).
- NHL box score is here.
By Jon Sorensen
Follow @NoVa_Caps
SCENES FROM WINNIPEG